


lullaby for a stormy night

by riahk



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:56:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riahk/pseuds/riahk
Summary: in which edelgard cannot sleep, and byleth ponders godhood.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 121





	lullaby for a stormy night

Byleth shuddered instinctively as another roll of thunder shook the building. The blankets clung to her body, warm and comforting; after years of jumping from place to place, she was beginning to appreciate the comfort of a bed that was undeniably hers.

She heard the knock just as she was approaching the edge of sleep. Where others may have cursed at the interruption, Byleth rose quickly and silently, the movement reminiscent of past jobs cutting her night's rest short. Though with their latest battle against the Knights of Seiros behind them, there was sure to be less urgency behind this rapping at her door.

And she already had a hunch who it was, anyway.

"Hello, Edelgard," she greeted softly. The girl stood barefoot in her nightclothes, white hair lightly kissed by rain and shining iridescent in the moonlight that had managed to break through the clouds. Her eyes were downturnt in embarrassment, but managed to meet Byleth's gaze at the sound of her name. "Trouble sleeping?" Byleth took a step back, motioning her guest inside without waiting for a response. Edelgard's dumbstruck expression at the slightest show of care always confused Byleth, and tonight was no exception. Hubert was constantly anticipating his emperor's needs and she did not bat an eye; why did Byleth's most minute acts of kindness still baffle her?

"I suppose so," Edelgard replied, stepping her damp feet onto the warm blue carpet. Byleth cracked open the wardrobe to grab her extra blanket, draping it across the other woman's shoulders. Her hands lingered there for a moment, giving a light squeeze before making her way over to the bed, sitting cross-legged on the duvet and leaning against the wall. Edelgard smiled hesitantly as her professor-turned-general patted the spot next to her.

"Are you afraid of thunder?" Byleth asked, grinning playfully.

Edelgard smiled back, and Byleth cherished it like she did all the others, understanding how rare they were. "No," she mumbled as she plopped down on the bed. Her shoulders shook, shivering from the walk downstairs.

Byleth did not let up. "Lightning, then?"

She got a stifled laugh out of that one. "No, no reason. There's a lot on my mind," Edelgard said. An understatement, they both knew.

"Lie down," Byleth suggested. "If you want," she added hastily, but her guest was already halfway down to the pillow, curled into a loose ball on her right side. Byleth unraveled her legs, knees now sticking up toward the ceiling and her feet planted on the other side of Edelgard, the sharp arc of her muscled limbs like a protective casing. Her left hand rested lightly on Edelgard's hip, fingers drumming against the cloth of her night robe. The empress' gaze was fixed uncertainly on the wall for a moment before her eyes fluttered closed.

A warm, quiet familiarity settled around the room as Byleth relaxed her shoulders further into the wood behind her. It's not the first time this has happened, and it certainly won't be the last. Well, hopefully, she thought. It's a caveat she's had to append to all her considerations lately; Edelgard's calculated caution is rubbing off on her.

Byleth softened her gaze, quietly observing her guest. Everyone looked more innocent, more harmless when they slept, but with Edelgard the contrast was particularly pronounced. The woman in bed with her now may as well be a different person, a faint silhouette of the composed, austere persona she wore by day. Perhaps it's the distinct lack of crimson and horns, Byleth thought playfully. It was an appropriately in-your-face getup, one that had a whole personality of its own.

But for whatever reason, the Edelgard wrapped in subdued whites and greys caught her attention more. It matched the woman she knew better.

"What is that, Professor?" Edelgard mumbled. For a moment Byleth thought she was talking in her sleep, but then she saw half-lidded lavender pupils glancing in her direction.

"Hm?"

"That melody you're humming."

Byleth inhaled slowly in an attempt to regain her focus. "I… I didn't realize I was humming," she said.

"Of course you didn't," Edelgard replied sardonically. Was she suppressing a laugh? "It's nice, whatever it is."

Byleth's face scrunched up as she tried to figure that out herself. "It has lyrics," she said. Her brain was doing what it often did, working and moving without her full awareness. Like someone else was taking control.

"Does it now?" Suddenly Edelgard was fully awake, turning onto her back and propping up on her forearms. Mischief shimmered in her eyes. She didn't ask directly, but Byleth knew what the next question was: _can you sing them for me?_ She also knew that it wasn't a question so much as a command. Byleth was suddenly hyper-aware of the body directly next to her, of the back of her thigh and calf brushing against Edelgard’s shins. The pounding of the rain outside the building thudded loud in her ears, the static energy from the storm giving the air a heavy, humid weight.

“Your Majesty,” she began, and Edelgard frowned at the formality. Byleth added mild guilt to the list of sensations now floating around in her head. But at the same time, she knew she’d rather disappoint the grand, untouchable concept of the empress than the woman in front of her right now. “I mean… I’m not sure if I can remember all the words,” she said.

Edelgard dropped back down with a sigh, her white hair swirled across the cerulean bedspread like ocean waves, peering up at the ceiling. She wiggled her hips, bumping Byleth’s legs with her own again, fingers intertwining and fidgeting with her knuckles as her hands rested lightly on her stomach. “I’ve heard you practicing with Dorothea, you know. You have a lovely voice.” Byleth snorted. It was true she’d asked Dorothea for some vocal coaching, out of some morbid curiosity. It was also true that, after managing not to sound like a croaking frog in her renditions of basic drinking songs, she actually quite enjoyed singing now.

“If you insist,” Byleth said. Edelgard grinned with excitement, neck tilting to meet her eyes, and Byleth felt her ears burn. “But I can’t do it if you’re staring me down,” she added quickly, looking away. She hoped Edelgard wasn’t frowning again. Instead she felt the other woman’s body turn, shifting back onto her side facing the wall. Her eyelids drifted shut once again.

“Sing me to sleep, then,” Edelgard requested. Then, in a near-inaudible whisper: “Please.”

Yes, this one makes for a good lullaby anyway, Byleth thought. She closed her eyes, steadying her breath like she would before a sparring session. The melody vibrated lightly across her lips as she hummed, refreshing her memory. Of course she knew the words:

“ _In time’s flow, see the glow of flames ever burning bright._  
 _On a swift river’s drift broken memories alight._ ”

She watched her guest carefully, looking for any hint of recognition and finding none. Edelgard’s shoulders only undulated slowly with her breath as the song continued. And as the words poured out of her mouth, Byleth realized this was the first time she could remember ever singing it.

“ _Watch the sun, be the one who cuts the earth like a knife._  
 _Through the flood give the blood that grants them eternal life._ ”

Was that always part of the song? She wondered. Her voice eventually rolled into a soft, wordless hum, and Byleth began to feel sleep scratching again at the edges of her consciousness. As her head rolled down toward her shoulder, images played in her mind, something lost. Instinctively, she gripped Edelgard’s firm bicep to distract them away. She did not want to see them.

But Edelgard was already asleep, and Byleth realized she was alone with her thoughts. She let her fingers slip off the sleeping girl’s arm, crossed her own and slumped forward. Hopefully there are no more questions about the song posed again when Edelgard awakens, Byleth thought. Then Rhea’s face flashed across her mind.

Byleth did not hold particular contempt for the Archbishop, or any feelings really. She understood Edelgard’s contempt, supported it, but that was more a dissatisfaction with the institution of the church. When it came to Rhea the person, Byleth could not muster more than a cold indifference. At worst, she felt a pang of guilt for envisioning the woman’s face, especially in the presence of Edelgard. To think of Rhea as anything more or less than their common enemy was like a subtle betrayal.

She remembered the anger in Rhea’s eyes when she’d stepped away from her in the Holy Tomb, the way her heels clacked against the stone and stopped beside Edelgard. That anger was understandable, and Byleth did not dwell on it greatly. No, what really got to her was the expression of disappointment Rhea directed towards her, and only her, when she’d sat silently on Sothis’ throne.

At first Byleth had wanted something to happen: to fulfill some expectation, perform some duty and offer tribute to the place that had given her a more permanent home. She could admit she’d felt some fondness for Sothis, an affection that still lingered even now, and she’d hoped to see the sleepy, fragmented goddess again. Rhea’s pained expression when nothing happened — when Byleth did not change, did not ascend, was not consumed fully by Sothis’ fully restored consciousness — had etched itself into Byleth’s memory. As if the woman Saint Seiros hid behind had been denied something that was owed to her.

 _But maybe_ , Byleth thought, _maybe I don’t owe you anything_.

The thought bled through her, as warm and vivid as when it had first occurred to her over five years ago, so raw that she shook with defiance. Her head ached and her body shivered, trying to pull herself out of the dream. She woke with a start, not even aware she’d fallen asleep.

Her eyes fluttered open and shut for a few moments, readjusting to the darkness of the room and faded, blurry reality. The rain was still audible outside, reduced to a mere trickle, so she could now better hear Edelgard’s rhythmic breathing beside her. Byleth smiled as she watched her, a woman who did not care that a goddess lived inside her, or even that she had rejected that divinity.

Byleth lifted herself over Edelgard and off the bed, stretching her arms before turning back around. She carefully peeled the covers down, sliding down behind the other woman and encasing both of them in the sheets. Edelgard shifted slightly, half-awake, leaning into Byleth as the latter wrapped arms around her waist.

“Hey El,” Byleth muttered, her lips resting in the nook at the base of Edelgard’s neck.

“Hey,” Edelgard responded sleepily. “Thank you for the song. It was beautiful,” she added, prompting a giggle.

“You’re welcome,” Byleth said. “And thank you… for believing in a world that doesn’t need gods.” She squeezed Edelgard’s form gently, though the other woman wriggled in confusion at the suddenness of her statement. Next thing she knew they were facing each other. Byleth tensed up, afraid she’d said the wrong thing, but Edelgard’s eyes were soft and kind.

“Anytime,” she said, planting a lopsided kiss at the edge of Byleth’s mouth, not bothering to conceal her sleepy hum as she rested her forehead beside the other woman’s collarbone. “Good night, Byleth.”

“Yeah. Good night.”

It was easy to fall asleep after that.

**Author's Note:**

> Well it's March and I'm still playing this game! This isn't my first time writing for Three Houses, but it is the first work I've actually finished. I really love these two and wanted to write something short and sweet and a little bit pensive for them. I also really love the Song of the Nabateans and wish it had more lyrics, hence the second original verse.
> 
> Title was inspired by the song 'Lullaby For A Stormy Night' by Vienna Teng. Hope you enjoyed it!


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